WEST CHESTER — The installation of “quiet zone” signs in the southeast quadrant of the borough began early Tuesday morning, serving as a permanent reminder to pedestrians that rowdy behavior and loud voices will not be tolerated in the borough.

Borough Manager Ernie McNeely said all signs have been delivered to the borough’s public works department and employees will put up signs throughout the coming weeks.

Some of the first signs installed Tuesday were on South Walnut Street, Magnolia Street, Barnard Street and Matlack Street with South Walnut Street identified as one of the “heaviest trafficked corridors” in the sign area, according to McNeely.

In all, the borough will mount 240 signs along 60 blocks, predominantly in the southeast quadrant of the borough. There will be two signs on each side of the block.

The 12-inch by 18-inch signs will cost a total of $4,230. The borough has an annual sign budget of $6,000. The signs will read “Quiet Zone, 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., minimum fine $250.”

“I see it having a long-term impact with the population of party-goers that are still able to be conscious enough going to and coming from the downtown area,” said borough Councilman Jordan Norley, whose ward consists of the southeast region.

Norley said there is nothing wrong with partying, but sometimes the noise levels in the area escalate to a point where quality of life is affected. These signs will serve as a way of letting individuals know that the area is a mixed neighborhood with residents of all demographics.

“This gives them the information about what our quality-of-life ordinances say and gives them a second to think about it so they might see it and quiet down,” Norley said.

Quality-of-life issues have been the focus of the neighborhoods in the southeast part of the borough. In addition to the signs, the borough also raised the minimum fine on quality-of-life offenses and hired a private security firm to patrol the area at night. Norley said he has heard positive responses to these initiatives from residents.

“One I do get is they are happy stuff is happening,” Norley said. “People are definitely happy that there is going to be some incremental improvement.”

Borough Council approved the signs by a unanimous vote in February.

The signs will be installed as soon as possible, though incrementally to avoid dipping into overtime for the borough’s public works employees.

McNeely said public works employees primed the job by installing poles throughout the past few week in anticipation of the signs, though the signs will be attached to existing poles where possible.

Additional blocks not identified in the initial study that seek to add quiet zone signs would be able to do so by petition from residents on the block.

“They are a form of education,” said West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn.

While the success of this initiative will be difficult to quantify, Bohn said,it will help increase awareness of the residential community which currently has no clear delineation to separate it from the downtown.

While the signs will be a tool to educate, they represent no change to current noise ordinances in the borough.

“This does not change the law and does not change the structure of the law,” Bohn said.

The borough defines a noise disturbance as “any noise which endangers, would endanger or is likely to endanger, or injures, would injure or is likely to injure, the safety or health of humans or animals, annoys, would annoy or is likely to annoy, or disturbs, would disturb or is likely to disturb, a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities; endangers, would endanger or is likely to endanger, or injures, would injure or is likely to injure, personal or real property; disturbs, would disturb or is likely to disturb, the peace; or creates, would create or is likely to create, a nuisance.”

The general provision states it is unlawful for anyone to cause a noise disturbance while specific limitations are on electronic devices, tools and musical instruments among others.

As it pertains to residents and visitors two provisions state: “No person shall create such other noise as might pose a danger to the public health, safety or welfare of the borough or otherwise constitute a nuisance in fact,” in addition to “no person, including, without limitation, a pedestrian, shall make, continue or cause to be made or continued any noise which creates or causes a noise disturbance.”

“This is a public awareness tool and it’s certainly my hope that to the people that come to our community our visitors that are otherwise transient who are not familiar with the neighborhood, that this might be helpful,” Bohn said.

Bohn reinforced that quality of life has always been the department’s focus and goal.

“Our goal as a police department is to minimize, to the extent we can, disorderly behavior or that behavior which is contrary to expectations,” Bohn said.

According to Bohn, quality-of-life offenses in the neighborhoods have seen a slight decrease this year as in previous years though they remain to be an issue because of the residents in the area.

“As long as we have that demographic, not just students but young professionals as well, I think that remains a relative constant,” Bohn said.

The persistence of quality-of-life crimes in the neighborhoods have been an item of endless concern at council meetings. These crimes, which include disorderly conduct, noise violations, underage drinking, open containers and public drunkenness among others, went up 9 percent from 2011 to 2012. According to Bohn, noise ordinance violations jumped 253 percent in 2012.